This invention relates to an electrically powered earth corer. It is considered that the invention will mainly be used for removing weeds from lawns or flower beds and in this description the earth corer is therefore referred to as a "weeder". However, the invention is by no means limited to a weeder.
Removal of weeds from lawns can be done either mechanically or by use of herbicidal poisons. Poisons, which can be environmentally unfriendly leave the body of the weed in the ground, although dead, which can be unsightly. Mechanical methods of removing weeds include simple manual pulling or digging out with a trowel, or similar tool. Particularly when the weed is deep-rooted, manual pulling often results in a breakage of the weed leaving at least some part of the root remaining in the ground due to the friction of the surrounding earth on the weed. This root will almost certainly re-grow. Digging out the weed with a trowel is more effective at removing the weed as it removes the surrounding earth together with the weed. But removing a weed in this way requires a sizeable hole to be dug in the lawn which can be more troublesome than the original weed.
There are known devices that purport to assist in the removal of deep rooted weeds, without creating a large hole. These operate by the insertion of a thin spike down the centre of the weed. Attached to this spike is a blade which is designed to close on the root of the weed when pulled up and thus remove the weed and root together. One drawback with these devices is that if the weed is firmly rooted the blade fails to adequately grasp the root and merely slips along the length of the root as it is pulled up, failing to remove the weed. Effective operation is also very dependent upon soil conditions.